5 Key Exploits For Large Field Tournaments

04 Jul 2025

Intermediate

This material is for medium-skilled players

Playing large multi table poker tournaments may seem daunting to many poker players, as it can feel like an impossible feat to get through so many opponents. However, with Jonathan Little’s 5 key exploits for large field tournaments, you can start taking advantage of your opponents' tendencies to build bigger chip stacks, make deeper runs, and win more money at the poker table!

I have been watching a lot of players strive to play GTO. They want to play good, strong GTO poker. They're doing their absolute best — sometimes well, sometimes not so well. Especially in tournaments like the World Series of Poker that attract a whole lot of somewhat novice players, especially in the $800 tournaments or the $1,500 tournaments.

While you should make sure you understand good, strong GTO principles, you are going to want to make a point to exploit whatever your opponents do incorrectly. When you get together more than 400 or so poker players, any amount more than 400 players usually results in a lot of those players not playing especially well.

I have been playing mostly $10,000 buy-in higher tournaments for the last five or six years, and I've not played a ton in the $800 buy-in tournaments. This is actually the first year of the World Series I have played anything smaller than I think a $3,000 buy-in tournament since COVID happened. And that's just because I've been out there a little bit longer, and I'm trying to put in a little bit more volume since my kids are getting a little bit older, and mainly, I'm focusing more on playing poker.

People are making mistakes left and right. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on how to get in there and maximally exploit opponents. Since the advent of solvers and the fact that they’ve become easier and easier to get access to, I think a lot of players are leaving a ton of money on the table by just trying to do what the solver says. While you should do what the solver says against good, strong players, or when you don't know what your opponent's doing incorrectly, you can make some assumptions about the broad player pool — especially live poker players in $800 buy-in tournaments when there's 3,000 people in the field.

In this article, I'm going to go through five things that I think you need to be doing to exploit the players in large field tournaments. These exploits apply to large field tournaments, but they also apply to when the games are just not overly tough. So if you're playing a local $200 buy-in poker tournament that has 70 people and your opponents are not great — I mean, they're the players who go and play the $800 tournament at the World Series, and that's like their big game of the year — these exploits are going to apply too.

In poker, one of the most effective adjustments you can make is to overfold when facing river bets, especially as those bets grow larger. The majority of players rarely bluff on the river, and this tendency becomes even more pronounced when there aren’t many missed draws on the board.

Consider this example: The board runs out     . Your opponent has bet on the flop, turn, and river. While they could hold hands like King-10, King-Jack, or Jack-10 that missed a gutshot straight draw, it’s far more likely they simply have an Ace and are extracting maximum value. If you hold a Queen or even a weak Ace (like Ace with the worst kicker), folding becomes the right play here.

From a Game Theory Optimal (GTO) perspective, with top pair and some kicker against a board with many draw possibilities, such as multiple broadway gutshots, you might call down more often, treating it as a cooler. However, if your opponent rarely value-bets anything worse than top pair and almost never bluffs with missed draws or random suited connectors, you need to respect that by folding your bluff catchers more frequently.

A bluff catcher is a hand that only wins against bluffs but loses to all possible value bets. For example, on a board like     , Ace-Jack isn’t really a bluff catcher because opponents could value bet worse Aces like   or  . Many players mistakenly think they should fold everything except very strong hands like two pair or better, but in reality, opponents often value bet medium kickers, so hands like Ace-Jack can beat some value bets and all bluffs.

Meanwhile, hands like middle pair are usually straightforward folds. That said, if you face an opponent who’s loose, aggressive, or splashy, as sometimes happens in high-stakes games, you must widen your calling range. These players will bluff more often, making it correct to call wider with bluff catchers.

Adjust to Your Opponent, Not Just the Field

It’s crucial to adapt based on your specific opponent’s tendencies, not just the general player pool. For instance, at a recent World Series event, I spotted two situations where I was confident an opponent was bluffing against a well-known pro. With Ace-high, I was ready to call down. I check-called the flop and turn, and when the river checked through, I was prepared to call a bluff bet if it came.

Here’s a memorable hand to illustrate the concept:

A woman joined our table with a large, intimidating man watching her. She stared me down intensely right from the start. I raised with  , and she called from the big blind. The flop came   . I had no spade. She checked, I bet $15,000, and she instantly raised to $40,000 on just her third hand at the table. I called.

The turn brought a 6; she checked again, I bet small, and she called. On the river, another 6, she shoved nearly all her chips in except a couple big blinds. This was a classic bluff catcher's spot. I read her well enough to know she was bluffing hard. I quickly shoved all-in for the remaining chips, and she folded immediately.

This scenario might seem rare, but when it appears, you must recognize it. Most players in big tournaments are cautious — they don’t want to bust themselves early and generally avoid risky river bluffs. Since they aim to extract value and protect their tournament life, their natural tendency is to fold rather than risk a big bluff on the river.

Therefore, as a general rule, you want to lean toward overfolding against river bets, particularly when the bet size is large and threatens a big portion of their stack. Bluffing on the river, especially a triple-barrel bluff, requires immense nerve — something many players lack.

Even seasoned pros like myself feel hesitation pulling the trigger on triple-barrel bluffs during critical moments like the bubble. So, if I find it tough, the majority of players won’t attempt these aggressive bluffs, reinforcing why overfolding is the best defensive strategy.

Generally, you’ll want to underbluff on the river when many draws have missed or when the board remains fairly static. When the board doesn’t develop much, your opponent’s marginal made hands — like middle pair — are still strong enough to call. Plus, when you’ve bet both the turn and river, your opponent will usually assume you’re polarized. And while it’s true that when draws have busted, you might have more bluffs in your range, that doesn’t mean you should start bluffing wildly.

For example, imagine you raise and get called by the big blind. The flop comes   . You bet, and your opponent calls. The turn is a . They check, you bet again, and they call. The river is a .

Notice here the board basically hasn’t changed: 9-8-3-3-2. You likely don’t have many threes in your range, so what does your river bet represent? Probably something like a good nine or better. But here’s the problem: your opponent will rarely fold a nine, and many players won’t even fold an eight or ace-high if they’ve been playing aggressively. This spot clearly tells you to underbluff.

Busted draws often make poor bluff candidates, even in GTO. When you hold a busted flush draw, you block your opponent from having it — meaning it’s less likely they hold a hand weak enough to fold. This fact alone makes many busted draws bad choices for bluffing on the river.

A lot of players dislike checking back after betting the flop and turn with, say, a queen-high flush draw that missed on the river. But if you try to bluff with every busted draw, you’ll end up overbluffing, especially on boards with multiple potential draws.

This is less true on boards where there were fewer draws to begin with — you simply don’t have many busted draws in those spots, so bluffing more becomes reasonable. Plus, you still have a solid number of value hands in your range, top pair with good kickers and better, which helps balance your bluff frequency.

Always be cautious about bluffing too much when many draws miss. Boards with both flush and straight draw possibilities can create illusions of more bluffs, but savvy players recognize this and will look for hero calls more often.

Yes, it can feel frustrating to give up the bluff, but unless you have a clear read — maybe your opponent looks disappointed they missed a draw, or you hold the absolute worst busted draw. It’s better to check back.

Here’s an example: the board is   , and you hold  s. This is a better bluff candidate because:

• 6-5 is the lowest, least relevant busted draw.
• It blocks very few of your opponent’s possible flushes or straight draws.
• You’re not interfering much with their calling range.

Now compare that to holding   on the same board. Bluffing with these hands is less effective because you block many of the high spades your opponent might hold, reducing the chances they fold.

Make a habit of value betting thinly. Why? Because when your opponents call with worse hands, you’re investing money as the favorite — and that’s always profitable. This only backfires if your opponents raise correctly, both for value and as a bluff. But in 2025, many players don’t raise enough. Especially with medium or shallow stacks, they often just check-call with hands like top pair, good kicker, instead of raising.

When opponents do raise, their range is usually very polarized — either monsters or bluffs. In those cases, your top pair with a weak kicker or middle pair with a decent kicker isn’t in great shape. Use thin value bets when opponents rarely raise.

Don’t get ahead of yourself. Since most players don’t raise enough, you don’t have to worry much about getting raised off your hand when value betting. Without frequent raises, betting for value becomes easier and safer, letting you realize your equity more often.

For example:

• Middle pair with a good kicker is often a solid hand to keep betting — especially if your opponent rarely raises. You might have about 55% equity or more against their range.
• Top pair with a good kicker or stronger is almost always good enough to value bet the river, especially if your bet isn’t all-in.

This applies most in:

• Early or middle tournament stages.
• When stacks are around 100 big blinds deep.
• When the pot size allows for non-all-in bets.

Here’s a spot I played that felt thin at the time:

• I raised   from middle position.
• The big blind, a recreational but tight player, called.
• Flop:   . He checked, I bet, he called.
• Turn: , a third club. No flush draw for me. He checked, I bet, he called.
• River: . He checked.

On paper, this is a value bet spot — the  didn’t complete any flush or straight draws. But in the moment, it felt thin. I thought:

• If I get check-raised here, it’s a disaster.
• If he’d check-raised the turn with a flush, then on the river, I’m mainly losing to A-10 and 10-9.

So I chose not to bet half a pot on the river, even though GTO says it’s a value bet. When value betting top pair with a marginal kicker, keep your bet size moderate — about half pot. The hand went check-check, and my opponent showed Q-9 — middle pair. Interestingly, Q-9 is a hand they should call a river bet with. I missed value by not betting.

At the time, I thought:

• This opponent wouldn’t call thin value bets on the river.
• I figured they’d fold hands like Q-9, even though GTO calls those.
• I was mainly trying to get called by better ace-x hands (A-J, A-8, A-7, etc).

So the question is: Should I have value bet or not? Solvers say:

• Ace-Queen or Ace-Jack is often the bottom of the value bet range here — it’s a close spot.
• If your opponent folds hands GTO expects them to call (like Q-9), it’s a reason to lean toward not value betting.

If you know your opponent is:

• Calling adequately or is somewhat of a calling station.
• And won’t check-raise with random, logical bluffing hands (like  or  on a flush board).

Then you should be more willing to value bet thinly — because you’re unlikely to face a raise and you get to realize your equity.

Here’s the key takeaway: when you do value bet and your opponent raises, you should overfold marginal made hands. Why? Because if your reads are correct, that opponents don’t bluff-raise enough, their raising range will be heavily weighted with value hands.

For example: with top pair like   on A-9-6-5-10, by the river, your hand is mostly a bluff catcher. You beat bluffs but lose to their value range that check-raises. Nobody check-raises A-J for value, and if they do, it’s a rare bluff. Since most players don’t bluff enough in these spots, folding bluff catchers like A-Q to raises is usually correct. A common mistake is thinking next: if you can’t call a raise, you shouldn’t value bet at all. That’s wrong.

You should still value bet because opponents will call wide enough on the river to make it profitable. When they call, you extract value. When they raise — which should be rare — you’re probably behind, so just fold and move on. The idea is: don’t avoid thin value bets just because you fear a raise.

Be disciplined and fold when the rare raise comes, unless you have a strong read that your opponent bluffs often. Yes, this can sound exploitable. Balanced opponents could punish you if you always fold to river raises. But against players who rarely bluff-raise, overfolding in these spots makes you money long-term.

A small blocking bet from out of position is a powerful tool, especially against loose-aggressive players. A tiny river bet, one or two big blinds into a large pot, can bait them into raising when they overplay their hands.

For this to work, you need the right opponent. After a turn check-check, many players expect a small river bet from mostly medium-strength hands: middle pair, top pair with a weak kicker, second or third pair — junk hands that don’t want to check and face a big bet.

This spot is well studied, covered in advanced tournament courses. The strategy: bet small with about 85% medium-strength hands, plus roughly 10% very strong hands, and include some bluffs. Many players mess up by leaving the strongest hands out of this small bet range and failing to add bluffs.

When you structure your tiny bets like this, loose-aggressive opponents see a tiny bet into a big pot and think, “They can’t call a big raise with that”. So they raise big, trying to push you off.

Here’s why this is profitable: these players dislike folding to a tiny bet and often raise because they think it’s their only option if they can’t call (especially with weak holdings like nine-high or queen-high). Their raising range becomes too bluff-heavy, turning your bluff catchers into profitable calls.

Almost everything you bet here, except some bluffs, is a pair. In GTO, when facing a raise, you call with bluff catchers that block the nuts — like holding the ace, king, or queen of a three-flush board or blockers to straights. Against these opponents, you often want to call even wider because their raise range is too loose and aggressive.

This strategy hinges on opponent type. Against tight players who only raise with strong hands, fold more when raised because they won’t bluff. Against loose, aggressive players who over-bluff raise, use this spot to induce raises and call wide, winning big pots with second or third pairs.

A real hand from a $25k event illustrates this:

I had   on a 10-9-6-5-4 board. I bet tiny on the river, opponent raised, I called (a crying call). GTO solver agreed it was correct. Opponent showed pocket jacks, which were ahead of my range. They checked the turn when the straight completed, then raised my small river bet for value.

Many smaller stakes players would call there, scared of my possible two pair. This opponent recognized my tiny bet meant lots of  and  , so jacks were ahead. They raised, and I called.

If I’d re-raised, they’d likely fold. But most people don’t re-raise tiny river bets unless they have monsters. Key takeaway: Exploit the opponent you face:

• Straightforward players rarely bluff-raise. Value bet thinly and realize equity safely.
• Loose, aggressive players bluff-raise too much. Use small bets to induce raises and call wider.

In large-field tournaments, this mindset helps you adjust to common player types and find profitable edges.

Playing large multi-table poker tournaments can feel overwhelming, with so many opponents to navigate. But by applying Jonathan Little’s 5 key exploits for large-field tournaments, you can gain an edge — building bigger chip stacks, making deeper runs, and ultimately winning more money at the poker table.

Against weaker, lower stakes opponents who aren’t well-versed in GTO strategy, it often pays to fold more on the river. Recreational players tend to bluff less than solvers like PeakGTO suggest, so folding more frequently when facing river bets is usually profitable — even if GTO theory would recommend calling more.

If you’re up against opponents who don’t raise enough for value or bluff-raise rarely, it becomes an excellent spot to thin value bet on the river. Many recreational players play straightforward and passively, mostly check-calling or check-folding. Since they tend to raise only with strong, polarized hands, you can confidently value bet top pair or even second pair hands without fearing a raise from weaker holdings.

In large-field tournaments, small blocking bets from out of position are a valuable weapon in your arsenal. Use these bets with a mix of strong nuts, marginal hands, and some bluffs. Against loose-aggressive opponents, this strategy often induces them to raise as a bluff, since they underestimate the strength behind a tiny bet. This lets you extract more value with your strongest hands. The key is choosing the right opponent to target with this approach.

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading — we hope you found these strategies useful. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, drop them below. And if you’re enjoying Getcoach, please share it with your friends. Good luck at the tables, have fun, and we’ll see you next time!